Carinae Sector: 02 - Admiral's Fury - Part 3 - Fleet Action (30 page)

A hunting horn sounded and the outer door of the large courtroom opened to admit the second envoy and her entourage. Thatak’siema stood nearly four metres tall as she hobbled slowly into the room on her four legs with her staff of office cradled in her two arms. Another older Vorinne, a male, which Omerio recognised with a shudder as Lord Malang’troh, closely followed the six-limbed Vorinne second envoy. He already knew that the two were now together and rumoured potential mates, but he also knew that Malang’troh would kill him if he worked out that Omerio had led a raid on his distant world over two hundred years ago.

Omerio joined Gindane and the three Cephrit in providing full formal bows and intoning ‘Honoured to serve’ at the two Vorinne as they all kept their gaze on the floor in respect.

Two more Vorinne were following behind and Omerio identified them as a junior Vorinne couple, possibly merchants. He then noticed the three subdued Tilmud ship officers following the two other senior vassals, and identified one as Tanuldesec, the current commander of the remaining Tilmud fleet. Omerio was already wishing for the presence of Tamerio, who would be in the process of returning to this base with their cruisers.

The second envoy stood over the place of honour and the court proctor intoned the formal greeting and the beginnings of the inquiry.

‘All kneel and pay homage to the gracious second envoy Lady Thatak’siema, who is presiding over an inquiry into recent events in this part of the sector. In the name of the overlords let no falsehood be uttered in her presence. Lord Malang’troh will also assist in this inquiry and the other Vorinne are witnesses to their decisions.’

The lesser vassals all knelt, as the Vorinne remained still and took in their presence. The second envoy nodded to her liege lord and Malang’troh struck his staff once before he spoke loudly.

‘Her Grace thanks you for according us the correct forms of welcome, and you may look upon her with adoration.’

Omerio knew that any signs of hesitation to lock eyes with the Vorinne would be seen as an admission of guilt, so he raised his eyes and looked directly at the second envoy. He noted that the massive tawny eyes of the second envoy hinted at both recent pain and suppressed fury, and he kept his mind peaceful until the Vorinne moved her gaze across to Gindane.

Thatak’siema now knocked her own staff once on the floor and the Cephrit court proctor listed the format of the inquiry.

‘This inquiry is not a formal trial; it is to investigate the facts behind recent events in many systems especially that of Earth. We will recommend charges for later trial if necessary…’

Omerio half listened as the proctor droned on at length, and he decided that the other races were suspicious of him, but did not yet have the formal evidence to charge him with sedition. The proctor stopped speaking and the second envoy began her inquiry.

‘Firstly I will know all there is to know about the recent battle at Earth, the home of the humans. Make no mistake, if the answers are not forthcoming, I will instruct Lord Malang’troh to interdict the human world for an extended period and seek all the answers. The role of the Cephrit is not being questioned though both Omerio and Gindane risk execution in a later trial if their actions are deemed as sedition.’

Omerio knew that the arrival of Lord Malang’troh at Earth could lead to extinction for the humans, but he ensured he remained calm as the first reports were submitted to the Vorinne. He saw that the first thing the Vorinne established was that had the vassals obeyed the edicts relating to haven races, and Omerio was relieved to see that they were happy with both the Barus and the Cephrit efforts. The Barus captain noted that the Vorinne were very irate with the Jerecab for attacking the humans at Earth.

Omerio now became more anxious as he realised that all four Vorinne were now reading whatever was placed down in front of them. He hoped that at least one of them would seize on something written by the fleet master and he would avoid a series of pointed questions.

Lord Malang’troh eventually tapped his staff once and glared at Omerio as he complimented the captain before he asked the Barus a question.

‘As a fleet officer and a military historian, I find your account of the extended action at first the former Dradfer colonies and later at Earth to be compelling. The actions of the Red Jerecab admiral amount to both war crimes and serious breaches of the edicts. Now the tactics of the humans bear further scrutiny after their notable victory for they seem very innovative. You made the bold statement that their technology and methods are among the best you have ever seen, do you not think that this statement is overdone?’

Omerio actually felt relief at this point, as the battle for Earth was taking up most of the interest of the Vorinne Lord. He replied with a polite ‘Honoured to serve’ and asked the court proctor to now play selected recordings of the final battle on the view screen.

The massive screen activated and Omerio watched critically as the Jerecab armada swept in to attack the human defenders. At key points, he would stop the playback and give his views to an intrigued audience.

‘The humans stayed well forward at first so as not to be forced into a very low orbit.’

‘The humans took early damage across the right wing of their formation and executed a textbook pinwheel manoeuvre to minimise their losses.’

The auxiliary human defences are already inflicting casualties on the armada.’

‘The losses amongst the Jerecab are already climbing higher than the standard projections as the humans grimly hang on.’

‘Note the false move sold by the human admiral before their ships pulled back, and how the Jerecab are forced into defensive actions.’

‘The amazing raw courage of the civilian pilots of those mining ships that destroyed the two illegal lifters the Jerecab sent against the humans.’

‘The human ships are cornered but the Jerecab cannot destroy them quickly enough.

‘The final launches of a new type of human missile, unlike anything the vassals use, finally tipped the balance of the battle in the favour of the humans.’

Omerio decided to finish at that point as he sensed that the second envoy was bored and wanted to press onwards with her own line of questions. First, she constrained Lord Malang’troh, who was still preoccupied with the details of the battle.

‘Well Lord Malang’troh cannot visit the solar system unless it involves breaches of edicts as they are still a haven species. This is unless I change their status because of this inquiry. Fleet historians are not considered official enough to warrant a visit.’

Lord Malang’troh knocked his staff once on the floor to signify his good-natured agreement, and he now remained silent as Lady Thatak’siema changed the direction of the inquiry.

‘Captain Omerio, let me first commend you and Captain Gindane over your actions in protecting the humans. I will reference my commendation again only after I first ensure I do not have to either censure or charge you both for sedition. I would like to now identify the number of times that you have dealt with independent races, and first we will replay the private meeting you had here with the Cephrit before we arrived.’

The view screen now showed both Omerio and Gindane meeting with the three Cephrit, and both Barus had the sense to remain calm and silent as the Vorinne analysed the content. After an extended period, the second envoy spoke again.

‘Well so far so good for our two Barus captains, a lot of this information we already know about and agreed upon at an earlier meeting. But I am concerned about the aftermath of the battle and we will now analyse that in more detail.’

The view screen activated and moved to a series of events in the days after the battle, Omerio could see that the second envoy was puzzled by the presence of the Maveen scout ship. However, Malang’troh now made a telling observation after freezing a close up view of the Maveen ship.

‘The Maveen scout has very specific markings that identify it as a team member of a senior Maveen leader, possibly their so called sector delegate. Note that the earlier Maveen to visit Earth all had a common glyph, but it was a different hull marking to that of what I can see here. The sled is obviously a new development and we should be mindful of the increased range it gives the Maveen into this part of the galaxy.’

Thatak’siema thanked him for his input with a warm smile, before she halted the presentation again when the Maveen left the solar system.

‘The scout probe spoke with Omerio, the humans and of all things briefly to the Sspol, yet the Sspol have been hostile to the Maveen for thousands of years. So Omerio what did the Maveen say to you given that your ship was so conveniently damaged?’

Omerio knew that he had to lie convincingly at this stage and he had a ready answer.

‘Second envoy, the probe stated that the humans must adhere to edicts relating to ships, weapons, ecology and population control. He also stated that Maveen fighting ships had destroyed Fenshilla raiders, but the proof would not find its way to vassals for analysis. I conjecture at this point that the Maveen then asked to Sspol to remain silent on this issue but the Sspol refused to do so.’

Thatak’siema glared at Omerio and he knew that he would have to play his next card carefully, but the Cephrit fleet master saved him the problem and spoke up.

‘Second envoy, with your permission, a report came to us that show the Fenshilla first attacking a Trader wing ship near the former Dradfer colonies. This is after the Fenshilla boarded the wreckage of several human ships and took a number of humans as slaves. We have footage of this occurring courtesy of the humans.’

Omerio confirmed that he had the same information as well after speaking with the same smaller group of human ships as he raced his squadron off towards Earth. The second envoy eyed him critically and then asked for the human footage to be shown on the view screen. Gindane functioned as a translator and she was clearly shaken by what she saw.

Omerio was in turn surprised as he realised that the human commanders from Tau Ceti, were the ones he had spoken with earlier, and that they must have also supplied the footage of the Fenshilla attack to the local Cephrit commander. The Barus captain watched in shock as two naked human captives huddled around the feet of the Fenshilla commandant as he first threatened and then attacked Captain Narindestat’s ship. The Sspol report followed next and the damage to the retreating Trader battle cruiser was obvious as the Vorinne closely watched the recording of the Maveen destroying the four Fenshilla heavy cruisers. Lord Malang’troh now did the translating of the Fenshilla language and the viewers had all flinched at the brutal precision of the Maveen fighting ships.

The fleet master then produced rough footage of a fifth Fenshilla cruiser being destroyed later from within, as no obvious ship-to-ship fighting was occurring, before he spoke again.

‘One of our scouts was trailing the four surviving cruisers and we think the humans revolted and destroyed the Fenshilla flagship. But we will never know for sure what actually happened despite two small Fenshilla ships fleeing just before the explosion.’

The second envoy spoke softly to the other three Vorinne in an obscure dialect as she sought their input into what she was hearing. Omerio decided that the younger Vorinne male must also be a commander given the appraising looks he was giving both him and the fleet master. The Vorinne finished speaking to each other and the second envoy made her opinions known.

‘We consider that the Traders were attempting to drive back the Jerecab armada, albeit with only one ship, but instead encountered the Fenshilla cruisers. Therefore, the findings support your actions and your conjectures Omerio, as we have seen other reports that the Sspol withdraw from the presence of superior Maveen forces. The Sspol cruiser that witnessed the Maveen fight the Fenshilla was well across the star system from the battle and transmitting non-aggression clauses at the time. The Fenshilla are becoming a problem with those cruisers and we are already planning a response to their remaining ships. No doubt the foul gene meddlers sought a breeding population of humans for their own ends.’

Omerio blanched as he thought about the likely fate of the humans had they not destroyed the fifth cruiser, and Gindane looked like she would be ill. The second envoy detected their discomfort and made an accurate assessment.

‘Incidentally, I understand you both have also been ill with a human disease, I trust that it is not catching?’

Gindane now spoke for the first time after offering an elegant bow straight from the Barus royal court.

‘Your grace, the illness caused respiratory problems for several days and our fur continues to itch badly. Our scientists are also concerned that the illness may make our race sterile for an extended period. I do no think it is catching for other races.’

The second envoy actually smirked in dark humour at the news for a moment before she spoke again.

‘Well the final reports tend to corroborate the line that Omerio is stating and I therefore consider that neither Omerio nor Gindane are guilty of sedition. Now we return to the subject of your excellent service in protecting the humans. You may kneel in supplication as I confer with my colleagues on what we will do about rewarding the both of you for your courage and devotion to duty.’

The four Vorinne again spoke at length as the two Barus knelt as instructed, and Gindane gave Omerio a soft smile of relief that he returned to her. Lord Malang’troh struck his staff twice and loudly intoned the next part of the meeting.

‘Barus captains Omerio and Gindane are exonerated of all actions that were initially interpreted or considered as sedition. Their actions are in the best tradition of their race and they have the gratitude of the second envoy. Her grace will make the rewards of the Vorinne known to the both of them.’

The second envoy now spoke at length to the stunned and relieved pair of Barus officers.

‘Captain Omerio is permitted to raise a full squadron of new cruisers and his old ships will be recommissioned as survey ships to replace the ships that Captain Gindane lost at Earth. Captain Gindane is to return to the humans as soon as possible and advise them that the fleet master’s initial ruling about the former Dradfer colonies is correct in the eyes of the Vorinne. The humans can use these colonies to ensure they never face a war of extinction again. The compliance enforced on the humans meets with our approval and they are still classed as a haven race.’